President Anura Kumara Dissanayake informed Parliament today (20) of the reasons behind the Government’s decision to deny permission for Iranian naval vessels to enter Sri Lankan territorial waters.
Addressing the House, the President stated that a request had been received on February 26 for Iranian naval vessels to visit Sri Lanka between March 9 and 13 to strengthen bilateral cooperation, a proposal which the Government had been considering.
He further noted that on the evening of the same day, the United States had also requested permission for two fighter aircraft belonging to the US Navy to land at the Mattala Airport.
“They wanted to bring two warplanes armed with eight anti-ship missiles from a base in Djibouti to the Mattala International Airport from March 4 to 8, and we said ‘no’,” Dissanayake said.
The President emphasised that, in line with Sri Lanka’s policy of strict neutrality, the Government decided to decline both requests in order to uphold the country’s non-aligned stance.
